


Firebird

by flight_feather



Series: Flame and Ashes (Nia Ryder) [1]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 13:16:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17244911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flight_feather/pseuds/flight_feather
Summary: Nia Ryder was a badass in the Milky Way, the kind that killed mob enforcers and fucked with Aria. Now she fumbles her way through friendship (and more) after arriving in Andromeda, dying, and waking up to find the weight of two galaxies on her shoulders.For now, this is planned as a collection of one-shots for my second sis!Ryder, Nia.





	Firebird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nia might be making friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Supporter gift for carolyntheclockworkangel90 on Tumblr, for the prompt "It's late, shouldn't you be asleep?"
> 
> I'm usually a Reyder/Shakarian writer (and haven't completed the Jaal romance), so apologies if the voice isn't quite on!

Nia Ryder had been a city girl back in the Milky Way, Citadel born and raised, but she'd always dreamed of seeing the jungle. Not the carefully managed tracts that remained on Earth or Horizon, but the _real_ jungle. One like what she'd seen in an archive video she'd found while hiding in a supply closet at school and stolen for the fun of it.

She'd imagine hacking through the undergrowth, exploring the wildness and claiming it by virtue of having seen it, hers only in her own mind, captured by memory rather than flags. The damp soil littered with dead foliage, the sun filtered by layers of spreading broadleaf trees, their trunks wider than the spread of her arms. The daydream had been her comfort in a world of artificial light and unforgiving metal.

It had taken traveling to a new galaxy, but she was pretty sure Havarl counted as a jungle. Even the angara research stations and Remnant ruins didn't detract from that. 

And it was hers, at least in her mind, completely unspoilt by the recycled stories of other travelers. Nia took another swig from her bottle of reconstructed beer, kicking her feet as they dangled from the edge of the broken platform on which Kallo had parked the Tempest, soaking in the sounds of night creatures, the dusky smells, the moist sweetness of the air.

Footsteps interrupted her sensory indulgence, the still-unusual toe-pad pattern making it Jaal. She didn't turn around or look up, even when he crouched beside her.

He said nothing, for once. No nosy questions, no confused remarks, just silence. Millimetre by millimetre, Nia's shoulders dropped. She took another sip of her beer, wondering if it was just her imagination or if the rich air added to its taste.

 _It does_ , she decided. _And I love it_.

Jaal seemed to have been waiting for her to relax because he shifted, mimicking her position as much as he could, if a little stiffly. Nia mentally steeled herself for a question.

“It's late,” he said. “Shouldn't you be asleep?”

“Not the question I was expecting,” she muttered.

“What question were you expecting?” 

“I don't know. Nevermind.”

The subsequent silence lasted for another sip of beer. “I do not mean to...irritate you. Or to offend. I simply wish to learn about you.”

Nia glanced at the big alien sideways. “Liam's not sharing tips about humans anymore?”

“I do not mean humans. I mean _you_.”

 _Oh_. She flushed, not entirely sure how she felt about that. “Ah...thanks?” Finishing the bottle, she briefly considered hurling it to shatter against some rocks and decided against it. She wouldn't be the one to litter in _her_ jungle. It dangled from her fingers, giving her something to focus on other than Jaal.

“I have embarrassed you.”

She shrugged. “Look -- nothing personal, but I don't, you know, _talk_ all my emotions to death. Unless I'm pissed off. Then you'll know about it.” Biting her tongue, she wondered at how easy it was to open up to the angaran warrior, not having intended to say all that. Anger was safe and effective. Anything else? Nia didn’t know what to do with it, and that meant it had no use.

“Hmmm.” Jaal shifted. “And yet your heart shines strong and clear through every decision you make, every action you take. It is...an interesting contrast.”

“If you say so,” Nia muttered, flustered.

“I do. Stop doubting yourself, Ryder.”

She flinched and her breath caught as Jaal’s words called up the insecurity she’d thought she’d buried deep. Being Pathfinder wasn’t what Nia had planned when she’d left the Milky Way two steps ahead of Aria’s goons and dying on Habitat 7 had shaken her to her core. Nothing had really gone her way since arriving and she hunched in on herself at the memory of Cora’s judgemental gaze following her every move.

“I thought so,” Jaal said gently. “You keep yourself apart, taking comfort from no-one. It is not healthy. Needing reassurance does not make you weak.” 

Annoyance flared and Nia twisted it into anger, pushing away the tentative hope that maybe someone cared. “I don’t need you to tell me what to do.” 

Rather than snapping back, Jaal looked out over the jungle. “I suppose not.”

His subdued response deflated her anger as quickly as it had come and guilt made Nia miserable. “I’m sorry.” She slid a little closer, brushing his shoulder before she realised she’d moved. 

She tensed as his bioelectric field sparked against her biotics before she could tamp it down. The sensation wasn’t unpleasant, more...thrilling. As was the soft touch of his hand on her shoulder, accepting her apology before he replaced it behind him to prop himself up as he leaned back.

As they watched the stars battle the bioluminescence of the jungle in beauty and light, Nia started to feel like maybe, just maybe, she wasn’t completely alone.


End file.
